Shoe



G. H. GILLIS SHOE Filed Dec. 15. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 May 5, 1925. 1,536,839

Patented May '5 1925.

GEORGE 1r. ums, or Nomi-i, rmoron, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE.

Application filedDecen ber 15, 1924. Serial No. 756,102.

To; all whom it, mag concern;

Be; it known that I, GEORGE H. Grnms, a; citizen, of the United States,res1 d1ng at North Abington, in thecountyof Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shoes, of which the following is a specifi-v Cation, I l I "My invention relates broadly to footwear andmore particularly to a construction for strengthening the material of shoes. e

, One of the objects of my invention is, to provide a construction of shoe in which, the parts ot' the upper and the exposed edges thereofare strengthened thereby imparting form retaining properties to; the shoe and reducing the "inherent distortion of the shoe after relatively short periods of wear.

Another object of my invention is to provide a shoe construction in which the manufacturing cost, of the shoe may be considerablyreduced including a saving in material,

machinery for performing the seyeral operations, and labor normally required in completing shoe constructions, heretofore known rt-;- 1 A Still another'object of, my invention is to provide means; for eliminating the stitch ng operatioa'ncrm lly requ ed ar und: the upper extremity or top of the upper. A, further; object of my invention is to provide. a shoe construction which a lacingv is provided; around the top, of the shoe or laterally across the forward portion ot the upper, which lacing is substantially anchored at opposite; ends for strengthening the upper and relieving direct strain upon the mater al otthe-shoe A still; further object of the invention is to provide an ornamental edgge rjfor a shoe construction for addingto the esthetic alp,-

pearance oftheshoe in addition to property f; strengthening he shoe 'My; invention will; bev more clearly under stood from the fol'lowing specification by referenceJto the accompanying drawings, in which a p li igugre1 1 is, a perspective vie I o-ta, slipper showing'the application of the lacing f my invention; Fig. 2- shows the application 011? the lacing of my invention to an oxford as, strengthening and ornamenting means for; both-the edge of the upper and taterall-y across; the forward'portion ot the upper; Fig- 3! is, an enlarged yiewot a front portion manner that considerable of'an edging of shoe material showing the application of my invention thereto;.Fig. 4g is a view of a rear portion of the shoe material illustrated in F ig. 3 showing the method of lacing the strengthening edge along the edge-of the shoe material; Fig.6 1s a cross sectional? View through a shoe showing the application of my invention andthe method of anchoring the strengthening member at opposite ends; Fig. 6. is a v ew showing the method of preparing the edge of the shoe material forthe applica cation of the strengtl'iening means according to my invention; and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary ,cross-sectional view showing an edge of the shoe material with the strengthening member extending therethrough.

My invention contemplates the strength- 'ening and ornamentation of shoes in such saving may be effected over shoe constructions heretofore known'in the art. Heretofore it has been proposedto provide a binding around the edge ottheupper. The securing of this binding in place requires a number of operations and the employmentof a number of different machines. In my present inventionl save. the fold allowance normally required in the -fleather and eliminate the operations of folding, cementing, stitching, and binding. Inv lieu of the binding I provide a series of slots adjacent the edgeof tbeleather spaced one from another and in these slots I lace a strip or tape, in a manner to behereinafter described, enclosing the raw edge of the leather, the strip being anchored at opposite ends to place the strip in tension andsecure the leather against mis-shape or deformation. The strip or tape forms an ornamental edge for the leather in addition to its strengthening properties. A great saving to, the shoe manufacturerand theultimate consumer is effected for the reason that the smaller in size the piece of upperwhich is cut from any skin maybe, the less expensive the upper canrbe produced, The majority of skins contain many imperfections such as slaughter cuts, scratches, brands, and other undes rable marks, and it is very dlfllCll-lt to obtain clear cuts of leather out of these skins when large patterns are used, The application of the strengthening and ornamental edge'of myinvention to shoes considerably reduces the size of the upper.

stantially parallel with the said edge.

The lacing according to my invention provides means for securing the lining to the shoe upper thereby eliminating the necessity of binding threads along the edge of the upper. This lacing also enables me to save the trim allowance on the leather lining. Still another saving over shoe construction methods heretofore employed resides in the fact that the req'uired height of the shoe upper is obtainable by the added dimension provided by the lacing. The lacing applied as described herein extends approximately three-sixteenths of an inch over the edge of the upper, securing the required height without the use of additional leather. The saving per pair of shoes obtainable by thepractice of my invention may be as much one-third of a foot of upper leather. It will be understood that this saving is accon'iplished without the employment of expensive machines that are necessary in the inaimfacture of other shoe constructions with the inherent material such as thread, cement, and appliances for performing the labor including machinery, power, needles and other machine parts incidental to the assembly of shoes of prior constructions.

lily invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the drawings in detail wherein reference character 1 has been used to designate the forward portion of the shoe upper, while reference character 2 indicates still another portion of the shoe upper which joins the forward portion 1. The counter is represented at 3 with a heel 31 adjacent the sole 5. In Figure 1 the portion a of the upper is shown connected with the counter portion 3. An extended edge 6 isprovided on the portion 20f the upper which edge is stitched at 8 to the portion 1. The overlapping edge 6 is arranged with a plurality of slots 20, one spaced from another and arranged within a line substantially otl set from the edge of the material 2 and sub- The lacing is shown at 9 as applied to the edge 6 of the material 2 of the shoe. It will be observed that the lacing 9 passes over the top surface of the'edge (S as represented at 9 through the aperture 20 in the material 2 and under the material at 9 as represented more clearly in Figs. and 7. The method of lacing the strip 9 upon the edge 6 is shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4:. The opposite ends of the lacing 9 are anchored firmly at 26 and 27 on opposite sides of the shoe adjacent the sole 5. The edge 10 eX- tends from the stitching 28 between the upper portion t and the counter portion 3 is slotted in a manner similar to the method of slotting the material 2. The strip 11 is laced through the slots in the edge 10 in a manner as represented in Figs. 3 .and 1 and is anchored at opposite ends to strengthen the construction of the shoe. The one end which is visible in Fig. 1 is represented as firmly anchored at the point 12. here the invention is applied to an oxford as represented in Fig. 2, an edge 15 may be provided on one portion of the shoe upper extending from the stitched connection 29. Slots are provided in the edge 15 as heretofore described in connection with the edges (3 and 10 and in these slots the lacing 1a is passed and interlocked along the edge, being anchored at opposite ends, one end of which has been indicated at 16. Along the edge of the upper I provide a plurality of slots 17 arranged in a line substantially parallel with the edge 30 through which the lacing 18 is passed in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 1-. The lacing 9 as it is passed from the upper portion of the material of the shoe at 9 to the lower portion of the material of the shoe at 9 is interlocked with each succeeding loop as represented at 21 and then passing forward as represented at 23 before entering the last succeeding slot 20. The arrangement of the lacing in this manner builds up a substantial body which encloses and protects the raw edge of the material of the shoe. The fact that the lacing 9, 11, let or 18 is anchored at opposite ends enables the shoe to be considerably strengthened and distortion of the shoe prevented. The lacing when applied around the edge of the upper as represented in Fig. 2 serves to secure the lining 2st adjacent the material of the shoe without the necessity of stitching. In this manner I eliminate the fold allowance upon both the lining and the up per and avoid the necessity of folding, stitching, cementing and binding with all of the inherent machine and labor expense. It will be observed that the footwear is ornamented by the addition of the lacing as herein described and that the application of this form of lacing lends itself to a variety of shading effects. That is to say the lacing may be of such a color that it will contrast with the material of the shoe to produce an esthetic appearance.

It will be observed that when the upper is laced around the entire top, the lacing makes a much firmer fastening across the seam where the two quarters have been closed together." The lacing is firmly anchored at opposite ends thereby forming a strain member which takes up the forces which may be imposed upon the shoe by the tendency of deformation or enlargemen The lacing serves as a strain relieving member to prevent transmission of deformation forces.

VJhile I have described my invention in certain particular embodiments, I desire that it be understood that modifications may be made and that I intend no limitations upon the invention other than those imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

ltlti What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as edge portion, said slots being disposed in.

a line substantially parallel with the line of stitching, a lacing looped through said edge portion and means for securing said lacing at opposite ends thereof for imparting strength tosaid edge portion.

2. A shoe comprising incombination a plurality of pieces of material forming an upper, one of said pieces overlapping another of said pieces and being connected thereto by a stitching running substantially parallel with the edge of the material thereof, an extended overlapping edge portion on one of said pieces, a plurality of slots formed in said edge portion, a lacing looped through said slots, said slots being disposed in a line substantially parallel with the line of stitching and spaced one from another for distances substantially equal to the width of said lacing and means for securing said lacing at opposite ends thereof for imparting strength to said edge portion- 3. A, shoe, comprising in combination a plurality of pieces of material forming an upper, one of said pieces overlapping another of said pieces and being connected thereto by a stitching running substantially parallel with the edge of the material thereof, an extended overlapping edge portion on one of said pieces, a plurality of slots formed in said edge portion, a lacing looped through said. slots and through the next adjacent loop whereby said lacing substan tially encloses said edge portions and ornaments the surface thereof. i

4. A shoe comprising in combination a plurality of pieces of material forming an upper, one of saidpiecesoverlapping another of said pieces and being connected thereto by a stitching running substantially parallel with the edge of the material thereof, an extended overlapping edge portion on one of said pieces, a plurality of slots formed in said edge portion, a lacing looped through said slots and through the next adjacent loop whereby said edge portion is substantially protected and enclosed and means for securing said lacing at opposite ends thereof for strengthening said edge.

GEORGEH. eiLLis. 

